MAMAN by Indrani

MAMAN by Indrani, at 7 years.

I have often been amazed by the beauty of children's art. What is that enables children to cut out the details and get down to the essentials? I don't know if I have the heart-shaped face and lovely pouting red mouth of this dream lady, or the dreamy eyes, which I doubt, but that is the vision that somebody had of me!

Forgetting, But Not Forgotten

Forgetting But Not Forgotten

Trite phrases galore Memory plays tricks with time Mirages that with the years Made believe what was unreal. If I had thought I would have lived so long Or come to this sad sorry pass I guess I would have said-pass But time trickled on Like sand in the hourglass There's a perpetual reason to go through the years Amazing as it may well seem Some think its destiny And others a form of being free And here in the midst of modernity What is the belief that keeps people scurrying Jumping running sprinting panting Living lives that build and build Mushroom clouds, and you and me and them And women free and unfree Walls that are higher and higher Time, pass me by please Leave me against this old stone wall Just leave me be. Copyright Rani Turton 2008

Auberge Saint Martin, Surville

We happened to pass at the right place at the right time, which is to say, lunchtime.

The reception being warm and courteous, we decided to tuck in. The menu at 11 euros exceeded our expectations. Entrée, plat and dessert. Quantities being copious and the produce fresh and frankly delicious.

During this blog, I have written about people who have been met by hazard and who have, by the charm of their personality, have confirmed my decision to give them space in this blog. The Auberge St Martin is one of these charming places that in France one happens upon by accident or destiny and always plans to return to when one is in the region. Normandy is known for the simplest meal being a gourmet's delight, due to the quality of the region's produce. Butter, cider, liqueurs being just a few of the products that contribute to the high quality of the cuisine.

The pictures show the outside, the restaurant and the owner of the restaurant, Mrs Torres, a charming and courteous lady. The link to the Auberge will give you all the details.

Auberge St. Martin

Route Rouen

14130 Surville


Nous passions au bon endroit et au bon moment, c'est à dire à l'heure du déjeuner.

L'accueil étant chaleureux et courtois, nous avons aussitôt de prendre place. Le menu à 11 euros a dépassé toutes nos attentes. Entrée, plat et dessert. Un repas copieux, des produits frais et franchement délicieux.

Dans ce blog, j'évoque les gens rencontrés par hasard et qui, par le charme de leur personnalité, méritent que d'autres s'intéressent à eux. L'auberge Saint Martin est l'un de ces endroits de charme que l'on trouve d'abord par hasard et que l'on se promet de revoir impérativement si l'on repasse dans la région. En Normandie, les plats les plus simples contentent les gourmets, en raison de la qualité des produits de la région. Beurre, cidre et liqueurs contribuent également à la qualité de la table.

Les photo représentent l'extérieur de l'auberge et l'intérieur, sans oublier Madame TORRES, à qui nous devons cet accueil à la fois chaleureux et courtois. Pour d'autres renseignemenst, voir les liens.

Auberge St-Martin

Route Rouen

14130 Surville

www.aubergesaintmartin.com

The Waiting

The Waiting

I had been waiting
Night after night
Until my tears had
Almost dimmed my sight

I had been waiting
And wondering for long
If life was only this
Dreary long song

I was then thinking
I should strive and grow
And even let this secret,
This love of mine show

This then is destiny
A road chalked out alone
Written in tears
In blood and in bone

Mine then is this journey
An uncertain end
To never know if you'll be waiting
Around the next winding bend.

Copyright: 2007 Rani Turton

A Bat at the balcony

This fabulous creature propping up a balcony was taken on a house about 40 km from Paris. The details are quite simply amazing. There are two balconies that have these carvings.

Cette créature fabuleuse soutenant un balcon nous a surpris à une quarantaine de km de Paris. Les détails sont extraordinaires. La maison présente deux balcons superposés et chacun a ainsi son génie propre.

This is another detail of a figure on another floor.

Cette créatutre soutient le balcon du 2ème étage.

Wordsmiths

WORDSMITHS

Prose writers write pages,

Paint pictures with stories.
Some make you laugh.
Some make you cry.
Some make you think.

Poets speak volumes
in a few short lines.

Politicians talk for hours
and usually say nothing.

Copyright: Ron Flowers

I liked the ideas expressed so fluently in this poem. Ron Flowers kindly gave me the honour of allowing me to put it in this blog. Thank you, Ron, you are always welcome here.

Ideas, Ideals and Delusions

Ideas, Ideals and Delusions

I have some notions of nothingness
I have some ideals of illusions
Into the abyss then with these thoughts
My ideas, ideals and delusions.

I can sweep away those cob-webbed dreams
Wipe clean every troublesome image
But nothing, nothing ever again
Can help me really turn the page

There are persistant and resistant matters
That will come back like a boomerang
Like a half-latched door in a tempest
That will continue to maddeningly bang

Away then and into the vast starry night
I will somehow continue to live;
My ideals of illusions, my dreams of delusions
Can also help to make me survive.


Copyright: Rani Turton

Icon

This lovely icon is to be found in the Cathedral of Auxerre.

Old edifices dating back to the 4th and 8th centuries existed, but the cathedrale was begun around 1215. Stained glass windows dating back to the 13th and 16 centuries are remarkable. The wall paintings date from the 11th to 16 centuries, and the wooden paintings from the 16th. Centuries of faith and beauty stand there contemplating you, rather than the inverse. Man is transient, after all.

La Maison de l'Icone

La Maison de l'Icone (The House of the Icon) is situated to the left of the Basilique of Vezelay. It is just next door to the other artist that is featured in these pages, Denis Canut.

We were welcomed with great warmth and humour to this atelier. Anne Marie and her husband are profound, in-depth people. I guess to paint icons you need to be like that. The icons are a marvel by themselves, and Anne-Marie has been practising this art since 1988. An interesting point to note is that she can form you in this art, and courses are thus proposed. The details can be found on the website.

Another link is http://pagesperso-orange.fr/maison.icone.


La Maison de l'Icone se trouve à gauche de la Basilique de Vézelay. Ceux qui ont goûté mes quelques lignes sur un autre artiste, Denis Canut, seront contents de savoir qu'il s'agit de la porte d'à côté.

Nous avons été accueillis avec chaleur et humour dans cet atelier. Anne-Marie et son mari sont des personnages profonds. Je suppose qu'il faut être ainsi pour peindre des icônes. Les icônes sont des merveilles par elles-mêmes, et Anne-Marie en pratique l'art depuis 1988. Il est intéressant de savoir qu'elle peut vous former à cet art et qu'elle dispense des cours. Pour plus de détails, voyez son site:

http://la.maison.de.l.icone.monsite.orange.fr/

Autre lien possible:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/maison.icone/bonhomme4@wanadoo.fr

Artisan of Words

I am an artisan of words Which I sculpt, chisel and fashion the way I can I am a creator of worlds; I pour my emotion into the poems I write. I breathe life into them, blow them skywards And finish them only when they sound right. These remnants of thought without reason Will remain on pages season after season Long after I'm gone; when my task is done The love, the longing, the pain Will be evoked then by somebody else Who in turn will remember and write again To create another slow soft song That people can read and draw into their hearts Then pillowed by words, cushioned by dreams My poems will ride high the moonbeams. copyright 2007